Anti-religion group hopes to challenge Bible-banner ruling

Says case belonged in federal court, not local state court presided over by elected judge

Published: 05/11/2013 at 12:00 AM

(Beaumont Enterprise) More than eight months after Kountze High School cheerleaders first hoisted banners at football games quoting Scripture, a judge Wednesday declared the signs OK, overturning an earlier school district prohibition against them and inviting more challenge from an out-of-state organization opposing them.

With less than a month to go before a scheduled hearing on the matter, Hardin County 356th District Court Judge Steve Thomas issued a written ruling that effectively formalized an injunction in effect all last fall that permitted the signs to be displayed.

The case created a national stir and the cheerleaders became somewhat famous with appearances on morning talk shows and headlines in papers across the country.